Slip-sheet mechanism for printing presses



July 30, 1929.

E. R. LINEBAUGH 1,722,806 SLIP SHEET MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed June 16, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l MF i070 y 1929- E. R. LINEIBAUGH 1,722,806

SLIP SHEET MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed June 1 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 30, 1929. E. R. LIN EBAUG H SLIP SHEET MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed June '16, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 20 The object 30 of the invention,

40 such EDWARD R. LINEBA'UGH, OF BARBERTON, OHIO, ASS IGNOR TO THE DIAMOND MATCH COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

snrr-snnsr MECHANISM Application filed June 16,

like, which are subsequently subdivided into book-match covers having imprinted outer surfaces. Heavy inking, including gold and other metallic ink, is frequently used fon the cover sheets, and hence when the fresh- 1y printed sheets are delivered by the press and stacked the imprinted backs of the superimposed sheets are marked or smeared to a greater or less extent by their contact with the ink on the opposing printed sur- 1 faces. This marking or smearing is objectionable, especially when the reverse side of the sheet, which constitutes the inside of the match book covers, is to be subsequently printed.

of my invention is to overcome the objection mentioned; and to that end I combine with a printing press simple and efiicient means whereby a supplemental sheet, termed a slip sheet, is deposited upon the freshly inked surface of each printed sheet in such manner that the opposing surfaces of superimposed printed sheets are separated from each other, which means, in a preferred form of embodiment will be hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention then be defined. in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a press of the well-known Kelly type equipped with slip sheet supplying mechanism embodying my invention, showing a pneumatic slip-sheet lifting device supporting an attached slip sheet in raised position,

sheet being engaged by a gripper preparatory to the positioning of the slip sheet on an underlying printed sheet.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the said mechanism showing the gripper, with its engaged sheet, in partially retracted position.

Fig. 3 is a plan of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section, as on the line 4-4: of Fig. 3, but showing the pneumatic device in down position upon the upper slip sheet of the stack, and the gripper in open condition at the end of its delivery stroke.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the gripper and adjuncts.

ron rmnrme rnnssns.

1928. Serial No. 285,936.

Fig. 6 is an end view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a portion of a Kelly press, including a driven shaft 11 which is associated with pneumatic rolls 12 for feeding successive sheets to an inclined table 13. The table is provided with forwarding tapes 14 effective to advance the sheets in succession to the impression cylinder of the press, and the pneumatic rolls are operatively connected with a suitably-disposed exhaust pump 15. The printed sheets (A) are successively advanced to horizontal sheet delivery tapes 16 passing about pulleys 17 mounted in a suitable frame structure including side bars 18. These tapes transfer the sheets to, and deposit them insuperposed relation on' a stacker bed or table 19, which, in the present instance, is adapted to be progressively depressed in the usual manner as the the delivery tapes 16, in advance of the re-- ceiving bed 19, and which tray is adapted to contain a stack of slip sheets B, of pasteboard or other suitable material. This tray is supported by a superstructure comprising posts 21 rising from the respective side bars 18 of the frame structure, rails 22 connecting the adjacent posts and cross-bars 23 connecting the tops of the posts.

Vertically movable into and from the interior of the tray, adjacent the rearward wall thereof and midway between its ends, is

- a slip-sheet lifting device which is adapted in its descent to contact with the adjacent end of each uppermost slip sheet of the stack and then in its ascent to lift such end above the tray. This device, in its preferred form, comprises a flexible suction cup 24 depending from the nozzle 25 of a ported suction head 26 which is pivoted, as at 27, in a block 28 at the foot'of a vertically-reciprocable plunger 29. The head is operatively connected by means of a flexible tube or hose 30 to a stand pipe 300 in communicaoverhangs the latter and the tray.

tion with the exhaust pump 15 of the ress, a normally-closed check valve 31 0 any usual orapproved construction being interposed in the air line between the pump and the head. The plunger is vertically guided in lugs 32 at the respective ends of a vertical bar 33 which is fastened to the horizontal longitudinally extending portion 34 of an fighlated supporting bar. One end of the latter is bent vertically downward, as at 35, and is afiixed to the adjacent wall of the tray 20, and the other end of the bar declines, as at 36 to a cross-rod 37 to which it is fastened. The rod 37 connects the upwardly inclined extensions 38 of two supporting bars 39 which are fixedly secured to the bars 23 at the respective sides of the tray supporting structure. The upper ends of the extensions are rigidly supported by inclined brace arms 40 which are bolted to the respective sides of the supporting structure 41 for the movable stacking bed and its operating devices.

The suction head 26 is provided with lugs 42 which are pivotally connected by means of a link 43 with one end of a rod 44 adjacent the upper end of the guide bar 33, which rod declines toward and is fixed to a rock-shaft 45 journaled at its respective ends in the inclined bar portions 38. One end of the shaft 45 has a crank member 46 which is connected by means of a link 47 with the upstanding arm 48 of a bell-crank lever fulcrumed at 49 on the adjacent side bar portion 38. The other or longer arm 50 of the lever has mounted thereon a roll 51 which bears on an oscillatory peripheral cam 52, the contour of which cam is such that when the cam is oscillated the roll 51 is intermittently raised and lowered, thus actuating the crank-lever and transmitting the motion through the described connections to the foot block and suction head in a manner to raise and lower the latter in respect to the slip-sheets contained in the tray.

The cam 52 is fast on a rock-shaft 53 which is mounted in the adjacent frame bar 22. The outer end o f this shaft has affixed thereto an upstanding arm 54which is pivotally connected by means of a rod 55 with a crank disk 56 on the driven shaft 11 of the printing press, whereby during each rotation of the shaft 11, the arm 54 is oscillated, thus correspondingly actuating the shaft 53 and the cam 52.

The rock shaft 53 is also provided with an upstanding arm '57 having an angular extension 58 which is connected by a link 59 with a gripper head 60. This head is slidably mounted on a bar' 61 which extends longitudinally of the delivery tapes 16 and Hence during the oscillation of the rock shaft and its arm 57 the gripper head 60 is reciprocated lengthwise of the bar 61. This bar is inclined downwardly and rearwardly, its higher end being supported by an ang'ularly bent portion 62 which is fastened to the adj acent wall of the tray. The bar is provided adjacent the rearward wall of the tray with a cam 63 and also at a point suitablyspaced from the tray with a cam 64, which cams are adapted to effect, in timed relation to the longitudinal travel of the head 60 and the vertical reciprocation of the suction head 26, the opening and closing of a gripper jaw 65 borne by said head.

The gripper head comprises a block slidably fitted on the bar 61 and having below the bar a chamber 66 in which the gripper jaw 65 is pivoted, as at w. The jaw pro-' trudes endwise of the block and has a serrated lower face 67 adapted to co-act with an extending tongue 69, which latter is preferably afforded by an extension of a cover member 70 on the bottom of the block. Ar-

ranged in the chamber is a longitudinally extending pin 71 which is slidable and tiltable in an aperture in the rear wall of the chamber, the point of the pin being in registry with a socket in the pivoted end of the jaw and being pressed thereagainst by a spring 72 which is inter osed between the end wall of the casing an a nut or shoulder 73 on the pin. The relation of the socket to the axis of the pivot is such that when the jaw is slightly raised to move the socket below the axis of oscillation of the jaw the spring-pressed pin snaps the jaw upward, (as seen at the left of Fig. 4) and that when the raised jaw is slightly depressed to move the socket below such axis the spring-pressed pin snaps the jaws downward upon the opposing member 69 (as seen in Fig. 5). One end of the pivot pin has fast thereon a trip arm 74 adapted to co-act with the cam 64 as the gripper approaches the delivery end of the tapes 16, thereby opening the gripper jaw 65. I

In the present instance the cam 63 comprises a protuberance formed on or affixed to the underside of the bar 61, directly above the rear of the tray, and so positioned that as the gripper approaches the tray the top of the open gripper jaw abuts against the cam 63 and is thereby closed, as indicated by the dotted lines at the right of Fig. 4. At this juncture a spacer sheet has been raised by the suction cup 24 and the edge of the spacer sheet is supported thereby in the path of the open gripper jaw. Hence the edge of the slip sheet is received between the jaw and the extension 69. Coincidentally the check valve 31 is actuated temporarily to cut off the communication between the exhaust pump and'the suction cup as will presently appear. This done, the gripper jaw 65 in the initial back stroke of the gripper escapes the cam 63 and grips the slip sheet, WlllCh gripper in its continued travel pulls the latter has been delivered to the stacking.

sheet from the tray. The trailing end of the slip sheet after it leaves the tray sags upon an underlying cross-rod 7 5 which is attached to and supported by one of the cross-bars 23 on which the tray is supported, and then, as the gripper approaches the cam 64, such trailing end escapes the cross-rod and drops upon a printed sheet ('A) borne by the underlying delivery tapes 16. At the same time the trip arm 74 engages the cam 64 and is actuated to raise the gripper jaw 65, thus releasing the leading end of the slip sheet and permitting it to fall fiatwise upon and within the area of the printed sheet. Thereupon the said printed sheet, with the slip sheet imposed thereon, is delivered by the tapes 16 to the stacker bed 19. The mechanisms just described are so timed in relation to each other that a slip sheet is associated with each succeeding printed sheet being carried by the delivery tapes, and hence during the operation of the press printed and slip sheets are stacked in alternation upon the bed 19.

In the present instance, the cam 64 is constituted bythe inclined forward end of a bar 76 arranged laterally andparallelly of the bar 61, and afiixed to a block 77 pro-- jecting from a cross-bar 7 8 connecting the inclined brace arms 40.

The preferred means hereinbefore referred to for actuating the check-valve 31 at proper intervals in relation to the cooperative movements of the suction cupand the gripper comprises a valve stem extension 780 which is guided in a bracket 7 9 on the adjacent side bar 39 and is held normally in outward or open position by means of a spring 80 which, encircling the stem extension, bears against a head 81 on the free end of the latter and against the bracket. This head lies in the path of an upstanding arm 82 on the rock-shaft 53, which arm is so located in respect to the arm 54: and the acting surface of the cam 52, that when the suction cup is elevated and the gripper is brought forward the arm 82 bears against the head 81 and pushes the valve stem forward, thus closing the check valve. In the backward movement of the arm 82, the valve stem is permitted to resume its normal or open position.

While I have herein illustrated and described an embodiment of my invention whereby slip sheets are deposited by a travelling gripper upon the printed sheets before the latter are delivered to the stacking bed, my invention, in its broad aspect, comprehends the employment of gripper or equivalent means operative to supply a slip sheet to each succeeding printed sheet after the bed. My invention, therefore, is not limited to the partlcularf features of construction and operation herein shown and derated slip sheet scribed to exemplify the invention, nor to the specific type of printing press indicated, since the mechanism may be modified in various respects and be incorporated in printing presses of other typeswithout departure from the fairspirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. The combination with a printing press, including a sheet-delivery mechanism, and a stacker element for the printed sheets, of means for supporting a stack of slip sheets adjacent the press, means for separating the slip sheets in succession from the stack, and means for engaging each succeeding sepaand depositing it upon each succeeding printed sheet on the sheet-delivery mechanism.

2. The combination with a printing press, including sheet feeding mechanism, sheet delivery mechanism, and a stacker element for the printed sheets, of means for supporting a stack of slip sheets, means for separating each succeeding slip sheet from the stack and depositing it upon a printed sheet on the sheet-delivery mechanism, and operative connections between sa1d separating and depositing means and the feeding mechanism of the printing press.

3. The combination with a printing press, including sheet feeding mechanism, sheetdelivery mechanism and a stacker element for the printed sheets, of means for supporting a stack of slip sheets, means, including a pneumatic member, for separating each succeeding slip sheet from the stack and depositing it on a printed sheet on the sheetdelivery mechanism, and operative connections between said separating and depositing means and the sheet feeding mechanism of the printing press.

4. The combination with a printing press, including sheet-feeding mechanism, sheetdelivery mechanism, and a stacker element for the printed sheets, of means for supporting a stack of slip sheets, pneumatic means for separating each succeeding spacer sheet from the stack, a gripper for engaging each separated slip sheet and depositing it on a printed sheet on the sheet-delivery mechanism, and means whereby the said pneumatic means and gripper are operated in timed relation to each other and to the feeding mechanism of the printing press.

5. The combination with a printing press, including sheet-feeding mechanism, sheetdelivery mechanism and a stacker element for the printed sheets, of means for supporting a stac of sli sheets, pneumatic means for separating succeeding slip sheets from the stack, gri per mechanism for engaging each separate slip sheet and depositing it on a printed sheet on the sheet deliver mechanism, means for temporarily chec ing the operation of the pneumatic means when a engaging each succeeding uppermost slip.

sheet adjacent one edge thereof and lifting it above the tray, a gripper, a guide therefor extending longitudinally of the tapes, means or reciprocating the gripper along said guide, means for causing said gripper to grasp the lifted slip sheet and thereby pull the slip sheet from the tray, means spaced from the tray for causing the gripper to release the slip sheet and permit such sheet to fall upon a'printed sheet borne by the sheet-delivery tapes, and means whereby the said pneumatic means and gripper reciprocating mechanism are operated in timed relation to each other and to the feeding mechanism of the printing press.

7. The combination with a printing press, including sheet-feeding mechanism, sheetdelivery tapes, and a stacker element for the printed sheets, of a tray for slip sheets overlying the said tapes, pneumatic means for engaging each succeeding uppermost slip sheet adjacent one edge thereof and lifting it above the tray, a gripper, a guide therefor extending longitudinally of the tapes, means for reciprocating the gripper along said guide, means for causing said gripper to grasp the lifted slip sheet and thereby pull the slip sheet from the tray, means spaced from the tray for causing the gripper to release the slip sheet and permit such sheet to fall upon a printed sheet borne by the sheetdelivery tapes, means for temporarily checking the operation of the pneumatic means when a slip sheet is presented to the gripper, and means whereby the said pneumatic means and gripper reciprocating mechanism are operated in timed relation to each other and to the feeding mechanism of the printing press.

8. The combination with a printing press, including sheet-feeding mechanism, sheetdelivery tapes, and a stacker element for the printed sheets, of a tray for slip sheets overlying the said tapes, pneumatic means for engaging each succeeding upper most slip sheet adjacent one edge thereof and lifting it above the tray, a gripper, a guide therefor extending longitudinally of the tapes, means for reciprocating the gripper along said guide, means for causing said gripper to grasp the lifted slip sheet and thereby pull the slip sheet from the tray, means for temporarily supporting the trailing end of the slip sheet when it leaves the tray, means spaced from the tray for causing the gripper to release the slip sheet and permit such sheet to fall upon a printed sheet borne by the sheet-delivery tapes, and means whereby the said pneumatic means and gripper reciprocating mechanism are operated in timed relation to each other and to the feeding mechanism of the printing press.

Signed at Barberton, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, this 14 day of June A. D., 1928.

EDWARD R. LIN EBAUGH. 

